Cultural Appropriation Diary, or: How I Wore a Bindi for 5 days

A Hindu friend put a Bindi (also Bindhi, Hindi: बिंदी) on my forehead last weekend. A Bindi is the “red dot” that many Hindu women wear on their forehead. Bindi have various meanings, including to protect your third eye and as decoration. Mine was cheap and mass-produced (it came off a sheet of a hundred identical ones), with sticky stuff on the back, and red fuzzy stuff on the front. I never would have put a Bindi on myself or somewhat else, since I do not identify as Hindu. Since a friend did it, and it is part of their culture, I decided to leave it on until it fell off naturally, which happened five days later. I washed my face as normal, so I was surprised it stayed on that long. I was curious how people would react. I was surprised at how few people cared/noticed, and especially at the overwhelmingly positive responses from those that did comment. I was expecting to get some flak for it, but I did not get a single negative response. I used the Bindi as a reminder to think about and research cultural appropriation, symbols, Hinduism and the meaning of the Bindi in particular. Overall, it was a fun experiment and I am glad I did it.

Ferris Bueller’s Okinawan Safari

Okay, I lied. There was no Ferris Bueller, and no Safari. But I did take a day trip with friends, and we had a blast and got lots of pictures to share with all y’all. We drove from Naha to the very northernmost point of Okinawa’s main island and back over ten hours.

First, we stopped at Cape Manzamo (万座毛) and the Toilet Bowl. Truth is stranger than fiction, eh? I don’t know who named the body of water around the cape, but I didn’t make that name up, and it does accurately describe the shape.

Next, we ogled the Kouri-Jima Bridge (古宇利大橋), the longest open road bridge in Japan. It is well over a mile long, spanning 2,020 meters. The wind was blowing so hard we were holding onto our hats so we could ogle without losing them.

Then we played on the beach right next to the bridge.

Our tummies were rumbling by that point, so we stopped at the world-famous Emi no Mise (Emi’s Restaurant, 笑味の店) in Ogimi village. The village is renowned for having the longest life expectancy in Okinawa, and Emi is a former nutritionist. Emi’s became famous during the longevity/centenarian-research craze a few years back when Okinawa had the longest life expectancy in the world.

Okinawan life expectancy is no longer the highest, unfortunately, due to increasing incidence of lifestyle diseases since the American occupation from the end of World War II until 1972. Yep, good old McDonald’s is going strong in Okinawa, and obesity and junk food are common (for Japan), especially around the innumerable American bases.

After fortifying ourselves at Emi’s, we headed up to Cape Hedo (辺戸岬), the northernmost point on Okinawa island. We checked out the monument commemorating the end of the US occupation and the gorgeous sea view...

I took a video of the waves crashing, though you can’t hear the ocean noise well because of the wind. We energetically waved at several sea turtles (umigame, 海亀) who poked their heads up while swimming around. They didn’t seem to notice our excitement, and paddled off shortly after.

After Hedo, we stopped at a deserted nearby park named Matsunamiki Kouen (Pine Tree-Lined Park, 松並木公園). WHY IS THIS PLACE DESERTED??? See the incredible pictures below of the gorgeous tree bridges and beautiful paths among the greenery. We wandered around for a while snapping photo after photo, but the mosquitos were fierce (maybe that’s why it’s deserted?), so we didn’t stay long.

At the end of our time at 松並木公園, we found this cute little shrine at the top of the hill. I will leave you at the shrine to pray a bit if you want, and see you again next week!!